


Steps Forward

by OverMyFreckledBody



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Apologies, Fix-It, Hurt/Comfort, Insecurity, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Season/Series 07, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-13
Packaged: 2019-06-26 19:00:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15669306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OverMyFreckledBody/pseuds/OverMyFreckledBody
Summary: Shiro apologizes for being a little harsh to Lance earlier.[Spoilers for early episodes of season 7.]





	Steps Forward

**Author's Note:**

> needed this after that scene. shiro would be the type to apologize privately, you know?
> 
> [originally posted onto tumblr here](http://cryingovershance.tumblr.com/post/176942204044/set-in-the-early-eps-of-floating-around-space)
> 
> [music i wrote to](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uil0L-0F4no)

Lance forgets he has his comm on until there’s a shaky intake of breath on the line. He realizes his groan of frustration was heard and he freezes, all prepared to apologize. Except, as he opens his mouth to do so, a voice comes over the line, stopping him.

 

“Lance? Are you still awake?”

 

He pauses, because that voice doesn’t sound like one that was from someone who just woke up. No, it sounds more like it came from a person who’s been struggling with sleeping just as much as him. “Shiro?”

 

“Yeah,” Shiro’s voice comes over the mic, clear, albeit a little tired. “It’s me.” Lance breathes out, and maybe Shiro can hear that, because he adds on, “Lance, about earlier…”

 

Oh. That. Lance has a feeling he knows what Shiro is talking about and where he’s going with and honestly, he shouldn’t bother. Shiro’s been stressed more than any of them lately. Sure, Lance died too, kind of, but he got his original body back and it was only for a second, so it doesn’t count. He didn’t have to deal with his consciousness being rejected out of himself. All Lance has to deal with is nightmares sometimes. He totally gets Shiro and his thoughts being all over the place. 

 

 So, so he tries to cut that off before it starts, “No, Shiro, you don’t -”

 

“Lance, I’m sorry.” Shiro seems determined to go on anyway. Lance falls quiet again and bites his lip when Shiro takes in another breath that seems to quiver over the line. Lance has a brief, deep desire to see Shiro’s face, to touch his shoulder, to tell him it’ll be okay. 

 

“I snapped at you.” Shiro says, very matter of fact. “And it was over the public comms. It wasn’t kind to you, and I should have pulled back for a second -” he cuts himself off and there’s a small enough delay between that and his next words that Lance thinks it might have just been him swallowing and starting again. “I shouldn’t have done that. You asked an innocent question and I reacted poorly.”

 

Lance is stuck in awe. It looks like he isn’t the only one making apologies here. But it still feels like too much. Like Shiro might be blaming himself too much. He can’t help the exhale that comes out, sounding maybe too surprised, wistful even, “Shiro…”

 

“Lance.” Shiro’s voice is a little more solid than Lance’s is, but it is softer than his statements of before. “I…” He trails off, and Lance waits patiently, feeling uneasy, but not specifically about Shiro. Maybe more from the situation, the tightness in his chest from the emotional rubber band being drawn thin. “Before… when we were first making decisions about what to do with Lotor-”

 

“This wasn’t anything like that!” Lance protests, because it wasn’t. This, even though it still wasn’t pleasant to be scolded, felt different. Maybe it was just Shiro really being himself now. Maybe it was because Shiro was still tired, still coming back to himself. Whatever it was, it wasn’t as… hurtful. It didn’t feel as targeted. “Everyone knows that wasn’t really you.”

 

Shiro’s reply is quick and, Lance’s hearts thumps in his chest at recognizing this, almost…  _frightened_. “I don’t want to be like him.”

 

“You’re not!” Lance tells him immediately, desperately pushing back thoughts of how he hadn’t known, picked up on it. How it was only starting to seem suspicious after they talked that time on the other plane, but even then, he still didn’t pick up enough. Nothing he can do about it now, he tells himself. At least they have the real Shiro back with them. 

 

He still can’t help but feel like he can’t do enough for him, though.

 

“You’re not him,” Lance repeats, quieter, a few seconds later, when it falls silent. 

 

There’s a pause, and Lance wonders if Shiro’s just removed his helmet and decided to finally go to bed. But then he says, and Lance hopes he isn’t imagining the smile he hears in his voice, the gentleness of it, “Thanks, Lance.”

 

Because that idea of a smile on Shiro’s face, Shiro who’s been battling so much, been so tired, so beaten down, is enough to make him sit up in his seat, curling his arms up and around his legs, hugging them to his chest. He grins to himself, too and looks down, staring the dashboard of his lion, but not really seeing it.   
  


“Yeah. Anytime.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading. have a good day


End file.
